Hu made the call when meeting with his US counterpart George W. Bush on the sidelines of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in the German Baltic resort amid a series of bilateral meetings with G8 leaders.

The G8 comprises the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia.

Topping the list of issues leaders discussed was bilateral trade, the Darfur issue, and the Iranian and Korean Peninsula nuclear issues.

The two countries should continue to build strategic mutual trust, look at each other's development in an objective and fair manner, correctly understand the other's strategic purpose and continue to strengthen dialogue so as to enhance trust, expand consensus and promote partnership, said Hu, who was in Germany to attend the outreach session of the summit of the G8 industrialized nations.

"To properly handle the Taiwan question and jointly safeguard peace and stability of the Taiwan Straits conform to the common strategic interests of China and the US," he noted.

Hu urged the US to treat trade frictions between the two countries in a comprehensive and objective manner and properly handle disputes through dialogue and consultations and avoid politicizing economic and trade issue.

The Bush administration is imposing further trade sanctions on China in a dispute involving glossy paper. The decision, announced on Wednesday by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, came a week after US and Chinese officials met for a second round of strategic economic talks aimed at lowering trade tensions between the two nations.

In response, Bush said the strategic economic dialogue between China and the US is a means to properly handle trade frictions and should continue. He added that the position of the US government on the Taiwan question remains unchanged and the US side opposes any activity that one-sidedly changes the status quo of the Taiwan Straits.

Their meeting was held shortly after Bush recovered from a stomach ailment in the morning, which forced him to miss one session with African leaders and another with leaders from China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, all developing nations and not G8 members.

Hu called for further cooperation and consultation between the two countries on energy, environmental protection and climate change as well as in international affairs to promote peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.

Bush said he appreciated China's efforts to help resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue as well as the positive role it played in the Darfur issue in Sudan and the Iranian nuclear issue.

Bush warned on Thursday after meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair that Washington will take its own line of action if the UN fails to take sufficient action on Darfur.

His latest remarks on Darfur came just one day after Sudan's Foreign Minister Lam Akol said US sanctions on Sudan would harm his country's peace process as well as the people of Darfur.